Stars Burn
by alyssialui
Summary: Draco has been drinking to cope with his feelings after the war. When Narcissa confronts her son about what she thinks is a dangerous path, it's time for a little mother/son bonding. Narcissa/Draco mother/son bonding. AU.


_A/N: Draco has been drinking to cope with his feelings after the war. When Narcissa confronts her son about what she thinks is a dangerous path, it's time for a little mother/son bonding. Narcissa/Draco mother/son bonding. AU. RxR. FxF._

_Submission for:_

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): **Charms Assignment #5 - Write about someone hiding something. The end of the story must result in whatever your character is hiding being uncovered. Prompts: (character) Draco Malfoy, (song) I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz, (word) Candles, (emotion) Sadness_

_**Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge: **Rhea - Write about a protective mother_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

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><p>Draco steals through his own home like a thief in the night. He feels that way lately, like he doesn't belong here, like he doesn't belong anywhere really. The only that makes him feel anything is the liquor he's been clinging to since the end of the war.<p>

He put a brave face on when he was outside of his home. The situation demanded it. If he lost face in public, they would damn him even more. The Malfoys, scum of the Earth, past Death Eaters, falling even further into squalour. He would fall in the privacy of his own home where no one could see him.

He knows he'll eventually be found out. His parents are not fools, and he already thinks his mother knows more than she lets on. He has tried to mask the smell of the alcohol in his room by lighting candles but she must have noticed his sudden obsession with cinnamon and green apples.

He grabs a few bottles from the cellar before heading back upstairs. This will last him for a few nights. He pushes the door to his room quietly, careful not to wake his parents up. The smell of cinnamon and apples meets his nose as he makes his way to his bed. The time for glasses and tumblers has long gone. Draco opens the first bottle under his arm and takes a deep swig. It numbs the pain and keeps the thoughts away for a moment. His past stays in the past, as it should.

"Draco?" a soft voice from the darkness.

Draco's eyes widen as they look to the doorway at his mother's pale figure. Her face is coloured by the blue light of her wand and shaped in a look of utter disappointment. Waves of shame wash over him as he realizes that she now can see with her own eyes how much he has fallen.

"Mother?" he chokes out, trying to push the bottles into the shadows even though he knows he's already been caught. There is still one in his hand that he's clutching to for dear life.

"How long has this been going on?" she asks.

He swallows hard but gives her no answer. He's scared he'll damage her image of her little boy even further.

She sighs and walks forward to take a seat beside him on the bed. "It's okay to feel sad sometimes. Even stars burn, Draco. The things are supposed to give other people just hope and light, go through hardships as well."

She takes a deep breath and takes his hand with the bottle in it. "Stars burn, and unfortunately, some crash and burn. I don't want to lose another loved one to alcohol, son." She gingerly takes the bottle from his tight grip.

He looks at her with his mouth open, wanting to ask who but isn't it obvious? He had grown up always seeing his father with some form of liquid in his hand. He had grown up knowing there were times when his father was just unapproachable and distant.

His mother speaks up, "It was worse than you know Draco. Before you were born and few months after, it was worse."

He nods silently and then looks away from her in the dark. One thing he never to be was his father. At first, he had been his role model but the years had thought him to look for better role models. He was still looking actually.

"You have a bright future, Draco, and I don't want to see you drowning it with alcohol," she says as she brushes his hair away from his eyes.

"This war has aged you, it's aged all of us. Your soul as aged and for that, I am sorry I could not stop it. I wish I could have protected you from all that."

He turns towards her and takes her hand from his hair and holds it, "You did the best you could under the circumstances, Mother. I'm thankful for you everyday, to have had you as my rock during those dark times."

Tears spill from her eyes and reaches up with their joined hands and wipes them away. She looks at him and smiles sadly, "And know that I'll still be there for you in the future. You can count on me instead of this poison. If you need space, I'll give you. But know that I'll still be here waiting when you come back. I'm not giving up on you, I'm not giving up on us. We've seemed to lost our way but we're finding it back one step at a time.

"We have a lot of learn about this new world, but we've been given a second chance. It shows that we're worth something to someone out there. Someone is looking out for us. Someone loves us. And even if you don't want to believe that, believe me. You're worth something to me. I'm looking out for you. And I love you.

So please, don't take this path. Don't do this to yourself, son. Know that I'm here for you so you won't have to do this."

Draco looks towards the bottle in her hand and the two he threw back on the bed. He hands the others to which she accepts with a graciously smile. He pulls her to him and places a kiss into her hair. He whispers, "Alright, Mum. I'll be better for you, because I believe in you like you believe in me."


End file.
